tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439Sun, 30 Nov 2014 15:59:07 +0000poetrygood newsmusicbooksvacationsalbumsreviewsLOCUSPOINTApriltelevisionlistsculturebirthdaysgay culturethe dc experiencereadingsfriendsmoviesArdenme-me-mespecial guestsartsfilmsworkretrospectivespostcardsbad newsfictioninterviewspublicationsshoppingweatherArizonaamerica-disappoints-meconferencesnonprofit leadership and managementPhoenixconcertsfashionmagazineseventsrock musicshameless self-promotionthe worst thing to ever happen to metheaterwriting practicesbloggingcelebrityfavoriteslovephoenix artsphotostravelchapbookscommunitydisastersgossip girlpoeticspoliticsLiving Thingsawardsfoodgood poemsmemoirmissivespublishingshoe crisesthe internetsthe writing lifewritersbadass cultural stuffbuffycommercediatribesfilmhomehow literary types pass time in the workplacemauimovingreviewtheoryvideoThe Hillscookingdramaexcusesfamilyhomosexualityodditiespeople i lovereality checkschoolHayden's Ferry Reviewacoustic guitaradviceask arden anythingauthorsawpawp brain mushcoffeeDream of the Unified Mediahttp://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Charles)Blogger1501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-1981616296214307626Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:46:00 +00002012-02-01T19:47:21.956-05:00byeMovingThis blog can now be found at <a href="http://www.charles-jensen.com">charles-jensen.com</a>!http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2012/02/moving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-2947877574064964220Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +00002012-01-02T07:00:02.311-05:00holidaysvacationsA Quantification of the Day Before, the Day After, and New Year's EveNumber of Theme Parks visited: 3<br />Total theme park hours clocked: 31.5<br />Total different number of rides ridden: 21<br />Total number of actual rides: 33<br /><br />Oldest ride ridden: technically, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, which debuted on July 18, 1955 as the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride.<br /><br />Most ridden ride: Apocalypse, Six Flags (6 rides)<br />Most rides in one day: Apocalypse, Six Flags (5 rides on one day)<br />Longest wait in line: X2 (90 minutes on day 1), Six Flags<br />Longest ride: It's a Small World Holiday, Disneyland<br /><br />Best ride scenery & design: Tower of Terror, Disney's California Adventure<br />Best surprisingly good ride: StarTours, Disneyland<br />Most interesting attraction: Innoventions, Disneyland<br />Best ride new to us: Apocalypse<br />Best overall roller coaster: X2<br /><br />Biggest shock: Superman, Six Flags--we didn't realize it was running backwards until we got on and it started moving!<br /><br />Worst rollercoaster: Riddler's Revenge, Six Flags<br />Biggest disappointment: Green Lantern, Six Flags<br />Most NC-17: Goliath, Six Flags; it moves so fast the wind almost took my t-shirt off<br />Scariest/not on purpose: Colossus (1978), which feels like it's falling apart<br />Most childish ride: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland<br /><br />Best food: French Market, Disneyland<br />Worst food: Katy's Kettle, Six Flags<br />Best treat: Funnel cake, Six Flags<br /><br />Number of people recognized: 1 (I saw someone from my gym in Tucson)<br />Number of celebrity sightings 1 (tentative--maybe Bill Paxton)http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2012/01/quantification-of-day-before-day-after.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-7425603240769545133Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-31T07:00:05.248-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 1. Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HGH-4jQZRcc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Florence + The Machine</b> <i>Ceremonials</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> Kate Bush + Peter Gabriel + Annie Lennox + David Bowie<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Only If for a Night," "Shake It Out," "What the Water Gave Me," "Breaking Down," "No Light, No Light," "All This and Heaven Too"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "Regrets collect like old friends / here to relieve your darkest moments / I can see no way, I can see no way / And all of the ghouls come out to play"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Florence + The Machine have done something really significant with this album: they have distilled down the last 30 years of British pop music into a single cohesive disc. The songs have the operatic intensity of Kate Bush, the R&B/soul influence of Annie Lennox, the outerspaceness of David Bowie, and the accessible experimentation of Peter Gabriel, among many other audible influences. The lyrics, of course, are a bit on the maudlin/obtuse end ("What the Water Gave Me" is ostensibly from the perspective of Virginia Woolf just prior to her suicide), but the music is pure anthem. From the opening track's cascade of tinkling piano and harp, the songs build and build, layering instruments, vocals, and harmonies until they erupt into joyous, defiant, or mournful choruses.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> "This album makes me want to commit suicide."http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-1-florence-machine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-8207001350773546845Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-30T07:00:09.311-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 2. Foster the People, Torches<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ABzh6hTYpb8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Foster the People</b>, <i>Torches</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> David Bowie + A-ha<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Helena Beat," "Pumped Up Kicks," "Call It What You Want," "Houdini"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / you better run, better run / outrun my gun / All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / you better run, better run / faster than my bullet"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> You've probably only heard the one song radio played constantly, but the rest of this album is worth a listen. The songs have diverse sounds and arrangements, pulling in just about every instrument and the kitchen sink, mixing up rock beats with dance beats with R&B beats. Each song is an infectious pop miracle, so be prepared to hum them obsessively if you dare to listen. Bonus points to including a really long sample from <i>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</i> at the start of "Warrant."<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-2-foster-people.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-804710429742725299Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-28T07:00:04.418-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 3. Oh Land, Oh Land<b>Oh Land</b>, <i>Oh Land</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Björk - dadaism) + (Olivia Newton John - 1970s)<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Perfection," "Break the Chain," "Sun of a Gun," "Lean," "Wolf & I," "White Nights"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "He said, 'Sorry but you'll never gonna dance again' / But my feet just keep me moving / trying to break the chain"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> The year's best art-pop album, Oh Land's debut owes a clear debt to the trail blazed by her Scandinavian foremother Björk but doesn't stray far from the sunny harmonies and major chords of traditional pop music. What buoys it all is her elfin voice, both reed-thin and velvety at the same time.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-3-oh-land-oh-land.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-3937366096351816596Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-27T07:00:08.694-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 4. Adele, 21<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rYEDA3JcQqw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Adele</b>, <i>21</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> ((Amy Winehouse + Duffy) - drama - disappointment) + heartache<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Rolling in the Deep," "Rumour Has It," "Turning Tables," "Someone Like You"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "Bless your soul you got your head in the clouds / she made a fool out of you and she's bringing you down"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> It's easy to see why this album tops most of the end of the year lists--it's bold, fearless, honest, and most of all perfectly written and sung. The songs on <i>21</i> capture what Marianne Moore said about art: that it is most universal when it is most subjective. By pouring her own experience into this album, Adele creating something everyone can identify with--and her voice, so beautiful, carries the rest.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-4-adele-21_27.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-631937875206707063Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-26T07:00:01.797-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 5. Panic! At the Disco, Vices & Virtues<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0xDf-_8KvGM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Panic! At the Disco</b>, <i>Vices & Virtues</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Panic at the Disco - pretension) + !<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Hurricane," "Memories," "Trade Mistakes," "Ready to Go," "Always," "The Calendar"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "It was always you falling for me / now there's always time calling for me / I'm a light blinking at the end of the road / blink back to let me know"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> After losing half its members (including the primary songwriter & lyricist) a few years ago, I wasn't sure Panic would be able to recover. But they not only put out a good album, they put out an album better than their others. This collection captures the electro-rock spirit of the first half of <i>A Fever You Can't Sweat Out</i> while incorporating more straightforward pop into their arrangements. We saw them live this year and, though Brandon Urie was sick and almost lost his voice during the performance, they were still amazeballs.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-5-panic-at-disco.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-2451448264018310964Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-25T07:00:09.351-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 6. Robyn, Body Talk<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-3a2qoyONVA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Robyn,</b> <i>Body Talk</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> 1990s Robyn + 20 years<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Dancing On My Own," "Indestructible," "Hang with Me," "Call Your Girlfriend," "Get Myself Together"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "My momma called me last night; she said when nothing else fits, pick up the pieces and move on / I see the flashing red lights, just can't make sense of the bits / it's like my mind is gone"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> A friend of mine encouraged me to pick this up and the end of last year and it became a year-long favorite. Although it doesn't seem like it should be difficult to make good dance music, it's actually pretty rare to find classy dance music, which is basically what this is. There's a maturity and depth to the lyrics rarely found in this genre, but also a playfulness and willingness to experiment and push boundaries, cross genres, and take risks.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-6-robyn-body-talk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-2510855842196039356Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-24T07:00:05.388-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 7. Eliza Doolittle, Eliza Doolittle<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dzY0-I4Gq5w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Eliza Doolittle</b>, <i>Eliza Doolittle</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Adele - melancholy) + Katy Perry<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Moneybox," "Rollerblades," "Skinny Genes," "Back to Front," "Pack Up"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "Singing with a broken string, tell me what you really mean / Do you know what you want? / While beating up on yesterday, I was on my rollerblades / rolling on, moving on."<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Itty bitty cutie Eliza Doolittle has an accent so thick she can't sing through it (based on her name, guess which kind?). She's also known for rarely wearing pants in favor of very short skirts, which makes her like an automatic favorite of mine. These songs are light, hummable, funny, and cutely anachronistic, blending old arrangements (horns, strings, big band sounds, etc) with contemporary lyrics in the vein of Amy Winehouse, but to much different effect.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-7-eliza-doolittle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-126588824239558938Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-23T07:00:15.598-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 8. Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xu-b3u5jDiU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Lykke Li</b>, <i>Wounded Rhymes</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> Björk circa <i>Debut</i> + 1950s doowop + Igmar Bergman films<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Youth Knows No Pain," "I Follow Rivers," "Get Some," "Sadness Is a Blessing," "I Know Places," "Jerome"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "Like a shotgun / needs an outcome / I'm your prostitute / you gon' get some"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> This is one of the craziest sounding albums I've heard in along time. Li cribs from 1950s pop standards like "Unchained Melody" and groups like The Shirelles, then tosses them in a blender with tribal drums, tinkling bells, and buzzing synths, coming out of it with something that sounds intensely unique and immediately Scandinavian at the same time. Also noteworthy was her live iTunes session EP, which features stripped down versions of many of these songs--most of which lose the echoey backing vocals and allows you to hear her, just her.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> "This album makes me want to commit suicide."http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-8-lykke-li-wounded.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-6938132846173167557Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-22T07:00:15.069-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 9. James Morrison, The Awakening<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LWgQ-wiPls4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>James Morrison</b>, <i>The Awakening</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> ((Michael McDonald/Bryan Adams) - cheese) + Adele<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "In My Dreams," "Up," "Slave to the Music," "One Life"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "But I can't help but shuffle my feet / Movin' like a zombie, chasing the beat / She lures me in, oh sweet surrender / Locks me down like a repeat offender"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> This album snuck up on me, courtesy of free listening on Spotify, where it became my background-working music for a long time. Then it became driving music. Then I found myself humming it and singing it. If you could imagine a male, slightly more funk version of Adele, that's really what you'd find here--oh, and with a bit of Bryan Adams's raspy voice mixed in.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-9-james-morrison.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-4267559801206202522Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-21T07:00:13.288-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 10. Marina & the Diamonds, The Family Jewels<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-vHi83LTQjU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Marina & the Diamonds</b>, <i>The Family Jewels</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Florence of Florence and the Machine + The Count from <i>Sesame Street</i>) + Bananarama<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Shampain," "Are You Satisfied?," "Oh No," "Numb"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "If you are not very careful / Your possessions will possess you / TV told me how to feel / Now real life has no appeal"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Although it came out a few years ago, Marina found her way into my life this summer and she never left me. While her lyrics frequently border on the inane, the music is fun and sort of silly and absurd as well, so it all evens out. I listen to this all the time.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> "Love her. She's the new solo Gwen Stefani for me."http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-10-marina-diamonds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-2797722158505509271Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-20T07:00:11.749-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 11. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lLJf9qJHR3E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Mumford & Sons</b>, <i>Sigh No More</i><br /><br /><b>Music Math:</b> Peter Gabriel + the soundtrack to <i>O Brother Where Art Thou?</i><br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "The Cave," "Little Lion Man," "Winter Winds"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> "I will hold on hope / and I will let you choke / on the noose around your neck"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> I love this quirky little album of homages to bluegrass music. Plucky banjos, slappy basses, and strummy guitars dominate along with beautiful harmonies in the vocals. <br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> "I don't like this and he's ugly. I feel like I'm in Ireland or something."http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-11-mumford-sons.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-7902733403229677299Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-19T07:00:03.815-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 12. Fitz & the Tantrums, PIckin' Up the Pieces<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bb6cBKE3WzQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Fitz & the Tantrums</b>, <i>Pickin' Up the Pieces</i><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Amy Winehouse - problems) x church organ <br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> "Breakin' the Chains of Love," "MoneyGrabber," "L.O.V.," "News 4 U"<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> “It's 6 a.m. spitting gray / Don't know why I let you treat me this way / I keep holding on to your middle finger / But now I know I gotta pull the trigger"<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Aside from having possibly the greatest band name ever, Fitz & the Tantrums do classic soul straight up/no chaser. Backed by traditional arrangements and prominently featuring a church organ in most of the songs, FATT do very little to adjust the anachronism of their sound and their content (unlike Winehouse, who modernized her lyrics). These songs focus on the bread and butter of soul--heartbreak--and look at it from several different angles. Bonus: download their cover of The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," one of the best songs of the year.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> “It reminds me of like a guy Amy Winehouse. I like it, but it's not really my thing."http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-12-fitz-tantrums.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-8982113854246027160Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-18T07:00:02.336-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 13. Patrick Stump, Soul Punk<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aGGIQQKKD0Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Patrick Stump</b>, <i>Soul Punk</i><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Fall Out Boy – everyone except Patrick Stump) x Prince<br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> “This City,” “Spotlight (New Regrets), Run Dry (X Heart X Fingers),” “Everybody Wants Somebody”<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> “Step 1: Drink / Step 2: Make mistakes / Step 3: Pretend you don’t remember / Step 4: Drink a little more / Step 5: I need to run dry”<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Many of you know I was devasted when my favorite emo band for 14-year-old girls broke up a bit ago, but my wounds have been healed by this release, which gives amazing vocalist Stump the ideal platform for his frenetic and funky brand of pop-rock. His voice is fully unleashed and is the star of the show, trumped (maybe) only by the note that Stump himself played <i>every instrument on the album</i>. Crazeballs! I saw him live this year and he is, truly, one of the most amazing live singers I’ve ever heard. <br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> “I love his voice, but this album is kind of lame.”http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-13-patrick-stump.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-2959148370556120752Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-17T07:00:06.877-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 14. The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ooTyuRd9zSg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>The Civil Wars</b>, <i>Barton Hollow</i><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (Peter Paul & Mary – Peter) + Ulysses S. Grant / <i>Hell on Wheels</i><br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> “20 Years,” “I’ve Got this Friend,” “Barton Hollow”<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> “I’m a dead man walking here / That’s the least of all my fears / Walk beneath the water”<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> Charmingly anachronistic duo The Civil Wars blend country, folk rolk, and bluegrass sounds with their perfect cross-gender harmonies. Both singers have beautiful solo voices, which we hear from time to time, but their real strength is their dueling melodies on tracks like “Barton Hollow,” which evokes the era of the actual Civil War more vividly than many elements of the war itself.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> “This album makes me want to commit suicide.”http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-14-civil-wars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-8551449784134664078Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-16T07:00:02.334-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums / 15. Peter Bjorn and John, Gimme Some<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wZyBmN6hWsk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><b>Peter Bjorn and John</b>, <i>Gimme Some</i><br /><b>Music Math:</b> (The Hives – Green Day) + The Cars + Wakko from <i>Animaniacs</i><br /><br /><b>Best Tracks:</b> “Dig a Little Deeper,” “Second Chance” (awesome video above)<br /><br /><b>Representative Lyrics:</b> “When you flew out of the nest / you made a mistake / flew all the way back”<br /><br /><b>Notes:</b> In their effort to be constantly different than they used to be, Peter Bjorn and John released this fun little disc of anachronistic pop songs that feel like they could have appeared in just about any decade previous. The energy on the album is consistently high and the album doesn’t stray far from exquisitely crafted pop hooks, backbeats, and lyrics that are alternately vacant and pithy.<br /><br /><b>Beau’s Critique:</b> “I kind of like that song now.”http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums-15-peter-bjorn-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-4336111294106243868Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-15T07:00:01.937-05:00bookspoetrypoetsEd Madden on his new book Prodigal: VariationsWhen I was growing up in rural Arkansas, I remember being taught the story of Abraham and Isaac in Sunday school. The whole story is a real soap opera—the patriarch gets the servant pregnant, then his postmenopausal wife, who demands the servant and her kid be kicked out. There’s sex, jealousy, rejection and exile (and that odd subplot about strange men dropping in on their way to the big city, where they nearly get raped before the whole city goes up in flames.) But the central drama is a story about a father and son, a trip up the mountain where Abraham is going to kill his son Isaac because God told him to. Test of faith and all that. Over and over we were taught this story as an exemplum of great faith.<br /><br />But it’s really pretty creepy, pretty horrifying. <i>Your dad loves his god so much he’s</i> willing to kill you. The poem that opens my second book of poetry, <i>Prodigal: Variations</i> (Lethe Press 2011), takes that story as its impulse, but reimagines it from the point of view of someone like Isaac. (“Sacrifice” also appeared in <i>Best New Poets 2007</i>.)<br /><br /><br /><b>Sacrifice</b><br /><br />When my father bound me, I submitted,<br /><br />closed my eyes to the lifted knife in his fist.<br />Even now, the cords still hold my wrists,<br /><br />rough ropes of love. My chest is bare,<br />my heart lies open. He loves his god more<br /><br />than me. I open my eyes, watch my father<br />raise his fist against a bright and bitter<br /><br />sky, no angel there to stay his hand.<br /><br /><br />In many ways, the book is a book about men—not just fathers and sons, but brothers,<br />friends, lovers. And for me it’s also a book about the stories I grew up with, especially stories from the Bible. In particular, the story of the prodigal son, with its promise of reconciliation, haunts the book. But if the book is haunted by what could have been, it finds its consolations in the here and now, in the rituals and relationships that sustain us.<br /><br />One poem near the end is both tragic and hilarious. A friend of mine told me that his<br />mother, who has Alzheimer’s, has forgotten that she’d disowned him years ago for being<br />gay, and now the woman who rejected him is thrilled to see him.<br /><br /><br /><b>Solace</b><br /><br />Lily, Jack’s yellow lab, leans across the futon to look<br />at me, the casita’s latest visitor, new neighbor for the week,<br /><br />then she sighs—the way that dogs resign themselves to something new—<br />thumps that thick semaphore of tail, and stretches, a back paw<br /><br />against my leg as she sleeps—the way I fall asleep best,<br />my foot just touching Bert’s leg beneath the sheets. Meanwhile, the rest<br /><br />of the world shudders on: sunlight spattering the shady lawn,<br />sirens pulsing on a nearby street, a cement rabbit pausing<br /><br />at the back fence. If I speak of solace now, I don’t<br />mean comfort. At lunch today, Robert said his mother doesn’t<br /><br />remember that she’d disowned him—the disease weeds the last few years<br />away. When he visits, she is almost loving, which she never<br /><br />really was, he says. <i>It’s not her</i>, he says, <i>or maybe it is.</i><br /><br /><br />This was a difficult book for me in some ways, grounded as it was in my alienation from<br />my own father and family and home. Ironically, when the book was launched in April at the Columbia Museum of Art, I was in the midst of a three-month stint at home, helping with my father’s hospice care. It was a big affair, a joint book launch with fellow poet and friend Ray McManus, and bluegrass gospel from a band called, of all things, Total Denial.<br /><br />I know I retell stories obsessively. No version is the last one. Now the book is haunted by three months of something I could never have imagined, haunted by the possibility of all the book denies—-as in the title poem:<br /><br /><br />A man watches the road.<br />He will see me coming.<br /><br />Even a great way off, he will see me coming.http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/ed-madden-on-his-new-book-prodigal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-7104961175366460996Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:25:00 +00002011-12-14T18:44:39.537-05:00anthologiesdramaopinionspoetryThe Curse of the AnthologistIt's difficult to do anything in the world these days without a) someone complaining, b) someone else rushing to the defense of the maligned, and c) twenty or thirty unrelated parties commenting on why all the dramz is relevant/irrelevant/fascinating/ridiculous.<br /><br />File this under c).<br /><br />I've been looking through the Vendler/Dove disagreement with some surprise. But this won't be a blog post that questions Dove's editorial decisions or one that approves of/disqualifies Vendler's response. My personal take on the anthology and the review of it don't really matter; after all, who am I? I thought you'd agree.<br /><br />But what I am invested in is the value system that created this conflict. It's situations like these, I think, that make the work of the anthologist a thorny venture. I think back to the days when <i>Legitimate Dangers</i> was first released--2006--and I recall many of the same arguments made. This isn't to say the arguments, such as issues relating to representation of diversity of race, gender, and other marginalized identities, are not essential ones; I'm just saying, "People, we're still having the same conversations." And that's a problem.<br /><br />The anthologist carries the unnatural burden (it has been so proven) of satisfying everyone. This is a task Sisyphusian in scope. In fact, the only person the anthologist is sure to satisfy is him or herself--but even now, with Dove's situation, we see that, too, is not necessarily the case.<br /><br />Vendler's perspective on the issue connects to a larger community of writer and critique who believe less is more. Fewer poets in the canon means closer scrutiny merited by only the absolute best poets of our time. This is an excellent perspective to adopt. If only we could establish, once and for all, the objective criteria of what is "the best."<br /><br />Dove's perspective (if I may intuit it from her response) is that there are more poets whose work bears inclusion. I don't believe Dove sought to speak on behalf of The Canon. But in adopting the work of the anthologist, she is perceived (by some or all) to have done so.<br /><br />Partly, I think this is because her anthology's title stakes a claim as an important evaluation of the work of the last century. These are big shoes to fill in a world where there are long standing assumptions about who those poets are.<br /><br />My lingering question is: "Why do we bother to publish new anthologies if they will only include the usual suspects, whose work has been anthologized previously in other books?"<br /><br />If that was the only goal of the anthology, we could all congratulate Norton on a job well done and leave it at that.<br /><br />But many of us writing now, I believe, see value in adding to--not replacing, not supplanting, not necessarily criticizing--the established anthology gang. Vendler, in her review, allowed that some readers, especially young ones (!), might feel electrified by some of the work Dove included that isn't commonly found in other anthologies. But Vendler didn't believe this was a criterion that permitted the exclusion (purposeful or not) of the poets she (and others like her) expected to see.<br /><br />It's that expectation that troubles me, and that has troubled me in all of the responses I've read to this particular anthology. And to every anthology ever produced. Especially when the expectation is voiced as "I expected to see X poet <i>instead of</i> someone like Y poet." If you felt this way, I'd hazard it's because you've seen X poet in other anthologies with a scope like Dove's.<br /><br />But I'd also hazard you hadn't seen Dove's anthology before. <br /><br />I believe it is the job of the anthologist to show us something new. Those poets who are regularly anthologized? Their work is taking care of itself. It will endure. The people who want it (expect it) can find it in any number of places. But the work on the brink of extinction--those poets not commonly anthologized, those poets Dove, as anthologist, feels need a second look--those are the pieces I'm most interested in.<br /><br />I may not like them. I may not believe they are really worthy of inclusion in an anthology that, by its title, suggests it is a comprehensive look at a century of writing.<br /><br />But I will value the opportunity to have made that decision for myself, rather than to have experienced, yet again, the same book with a slightly different title, a different editor, and some new cover art.<br /><br />And if I disagree with Dove's choices, or another editor's choices, I won't disparage her or suggest she failed in her endeavor. I am, after all, but one person (see above: who am I?). <br /><br />I will close the book, place it on a shelf, and wait for the next editor's unique perspective on poetry, to see what can be found there.http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/curse-of-anthologist.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-3348677550593675556Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:42:00 +00002011-12-13T19:43:23.577-05:00albumslistsmusic2011 Favorite Albums!!This year, instead of ganging up my favorite albums post into one loooong post, I'm going to unroll it one day at a time.<br /><br />I winnowed the list down to just 15 albums (which was tough), so starting on 12/16, there'll be a daily post featuring one of the albums and my take on it.http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-favorite-albums.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-6868918109722700536Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-12-06T07:00:03.268-05:00bookspoetrypoetsAndrew Demcak on his new book Night ChantMy newest poetry collection, <i>Night Chant</i> (Lethe Press 2011), began with the leftover poems that didn’t fit in with the tone of my first collection, <i>Catching Tigers in Red Weather</i> (Three Candles Press, 2007). Around 2009, I became interested in the idea of “hidden,” which logically leads to the idea of “discovery.” I was still experimenting with poetic voice and narrative in my work, (e.g. who is the speaker, to whom is the poem addressed, etc.) and playing around with burying poetic forms within line breaks. The poems in <i>Night Chant</i> all have very formal metrical structures and/or rhyme schemes, but the forms are embedded in the line breaks to conceal them. Once the true line is discovered, the reader can see that these poems are in the tradition of French syllabic verse. For example, here is the poem “Announcement” with its “true” lines revealed:<br /><br /><br />A baby’s pink squeal for the tit, its hunger* <br />insolvent, obstinate country. Or <br />the snarl of sated fox, the expunger, <br />after its banquet of rabbit femur.<br />Mountains open upon their dependents <br />a volcanic outrage. Magma aglow <br />like the mind’s light, orange-red, resplendent.<br />Over lifeless men, the screech of sea birds, <br />the fins of mermaids the drowning have heard. <br /><br /><br />*my sloppy division of syllables (count 11, the next line 9 = 20 for the two lines.) <br /><br /><br />The end rhymes are more noticeable this way and the ten-syllable lines become apparent. So began <i>Night Chant</i>. <br /><br />One of the memorable poem sections of <i>Night Chant</i> (besides all the raw sex poems) is what I’ve been calling the “Dead Baby” section. These poems came as a reaction to the state of Florida announcing that it was illegal now for LGBTQI2-S couples to adopt children there. My kneejerk response was “If we can’t have our own children, then neither can they,” and I began to imagine all the social permutations and complications of birth. <br /><br />I wanted to include my two longest poems, both e-chapbooks, <i>Pink Narcissus</i> (GOSS 183/Casa Menendez Press, 2009) and <i>672 Hours</i> (Gold Wake Press, 2008) here, the former from what is considered the first gay art film, and the latter about my 28-day stay in a drug and alcohol rehab. Both of these poems for me relate to the “hidden” in the gay experience. <br /><br />And because this whole book was shaping up to be a literary catharsis for me, I decided to base the title on the nine-day, Navajo healing ceremony, the Night Chant. The title worked perfectly: it meant “the hidden expression.”http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/12/andrew-demcak-on-his-new-book-night.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-9203656855030666711Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-11-30T07:00:10.938-05:00filmssalonsshameBad Films/Charles Jensen/THE SWEETEST THING<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ffl1irUuQMs/TtQPLdF6R0I/AAAAAAAAARI/-6CrmAqlHmQ/s1600/sweetest_thing.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ffl1irUuQMs/TtQPLdF6R0I/AAAAAAAAARI/-6CrmAqlHmQ/s320/sweetest_thing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680181719483434818" /></a><br /><br />You know the plot: a heartless love 'em and leave 'em player toys with the affections of the opposite sex until WHAM! along comes the one who may turn out to be THE ONE. Undaunted, the player and player's best friend hop in the car to pick up THE ONE at a wedding...only to discover THE ONE is marrying someone else! The wedding derails at the last minute and then...our main characters reconnect, finally falling in love.<br /><br />What you don't expect: the player is Cameron Diaz. THE ONE is Thomas Jane.<br /><br /><i>The Sweetest Thing</i> turns tired romantic comedy tropes on their head by changing up the genders and letting women run the show. Diaz's Christina has left a sea of shattered men in her wake, all of whom suffer from anger management issues, impotence, insanity, or some combination thereof. Her best friend Courtney, of a similar mold, supports her friends "manizing" and does a bit of her own, all for--GASP!--HER OWN ENJOYMENT! Third friend (and frequent third wheel) Jane (Selma Blair), recently dumped by her man, sets off on a calorie-free sexcapade with a cute (but insanely stupid) man whose "features" have her reaching for the Advil the next day.<br /><br />If these characters had penises, I'd hazard to say they'd be the staple of any ridonkulous male sex comedy. But because they are women doin' it for themselves, the film tanked. Diaz's love interest, Peter (it's slang for penis!), is a fussy, wallowy dude who becomes incensed when Christina rips him a new one for blowing off hot friend Jane at the club. He knocks her down a peg. Christina shrugs it off...but is she attracted to him? Yes. Probably because he's the only guy in the club who isn't dripping off her at any given moment. The story of our lives: we want who doesn't want us.<br /><br />While <i>The Sweetest Thing</i> is bold in premise, it doesn't quite nail the dismount. If non-narrativity is your thing, this film is for you. Diaz and the girls interrupt the film with a costume change-filled "movie montage" while shopping for wedding outfits (and lamenting the sagging of her breasts with marked candor in the process), a spontaneous music/dance number called "You're Too Big to Fit in Here" that summarizes the three's perspective on consoling men about the size of their Johnsons, and a sex fantasy that features Christina receiving constant oral sex while eating giant ice cream sundaes with the calories removed. Add to this a road trip, a wedding brawl, a piercing-related fellatio emergency, an encounter with nervous bride Parker Posey, the most embarrassing visit to the dry cleaners EVER, and a glory hole, and you've got <i>The Sweetest Thing.</i><br /><br />While for most moviegoers, the disconnectedness (or what negative reviewers smarmily call its "bits," also slang for penis, btw) for me is its strength. Diaz, Applegate, and Blair are fearless in the film, often taking gags to the point of danger, disgust, or both--but never losing their wicked lack of apology for doing so (unlike most other female-driven comedies like <i>Bridesmaids</i>, which got gross, but allowed you to hate/pity the characters while watching so you didn't have to imagine spending a life with them).<br /><br />While the film does ultimately return our women to "ladylike" status by the end (all our happily coupled and on a sex-free diet until "the time is right"), it pulls no punches along the way. One of the greatest moments is when Applegate lambasts Diaz for "naming the puppy" (Peter) after he chastizes her. Another woman in the restroom can't stop staring at Applegate's boobs. "They're fake," she says flatly, then offers, "Go ahead, touch them." The woman, then three other women, all begin evaluating the realness of Applegate's implants. As the bathroom door swings open, two men fall over themselves when they see this, their fantasy in real life. "That's why chicks always go to the bathroom together!" one says as they camp out for a better view. Of course, the reality is a lot less sexy.<br /><br />Or the bit where Applegate and Diaz, clad only in their "laundry day panties" after a urinal soaks them both with water and Diaz gets poked in the eye at the aforementioned glory hole, drive to the wedding. Diaz drops something on the floor of the car and, as she reaches over to grab it from under Applegate's feet (who is driving), a hyper-masculine biker passes by and looks in, almost falling off his bike. Applegate plays up the appearance, flicking her tongue through her spread fingers, egging him on, while Diaz pats around on the floor none the wiser. All is fun and games until the biker, so caught up in their tryst, doesn't see his lane end...and dumps the bike on the ground. In the background, you see him stand up and shake his fist at them angrily as they drive off. Again--masculine misinterpretation of female sexuality is the punchline. Oddly, (straight) men seemed not to find this funny!<br /><br />2002's <i>The Sweetest Thing</i> didn't get a lot of notice when it was released. In fact, I don't even really remember it coming out in theaters. A quick sweep of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes brings up these ringing endorsements:<br /><br />"Female characters should be allowed to engage in raunchy humor on the big screen; they already do on the small one with <i>Sex and the City.</i> But unlike that HBO series, The Sweetest Thing has no guts." Mark Caro, <i>Chicago Tribune</i><br /><br />"If a date suggests the two of you should go and see this film dump them." Harry Guerin, <i>RTE Interactive</i><br /><br />"A movie in which laughter and self-exploitation merge into jolly soft-porn 'empowerment.'" Owen Gleiberman, <i>Entertainment Weekly</i><br /><br />"If you laugh at this badly made recycled trash dump...it may be because you are amused at seeing women doing the same revolting stuff men do, and being forced to suffer the very same consequences." Terry Lawson, <i>Detroit Free Press</i><br /><br />You'll note all these reviewers are, sadly, men. And possibly humorless pricks.<br /><br />Even as it wickedly deconstructs heterosexual gender norms and sex roles, <i>The Sweetest Thing</i> never loses its sense of whimsy and fantasy, as evidence by my parting gift: "You're Too Big to Fit in Here." If not obvious, this clip is rated R.<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0tWfosqBsOY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/11/bad-filmscharles-jensenthe-sweetest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-6960952409045540784Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:12:00 +00002011-11-26T20:28:39.076-05:00filmssalonsshameBad Films/Collin Kelley/THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTQuFmnf9no/Ts--l_cPAmI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/oWo5qMsT-a0/s1600/220px-Legend_of_billie_jean.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PTQuFmnf9no/Ts--l_cPAmI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/oWo5qMsT-a0/s320/220px-Legend_of_billie_jean.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678967215031779938" /></a><br /><br /><i>The Legend of Billie Jean</i> was a flop in the summer of 1985. It was critically savaged and only earned around $3 million (peanuts!) at the box office before being sent to cable purgatory. Even the soundtrack, designed to draw in the MTV generation, tanked. Pat Benatar, who sang the killer theme song, “Invincible,” has disowned the movie. <br /><br />The movie wasn’t in theaters long enough for me to see it on the big screen, but in the summer of 1986 I saw it for the first time in a hotel room in Savannah. And, oddly, every time I went on vacation with my family, the movie was playing. We would turn on the TV in our cheap hotel room and there was Helen Slater as the eponymous heroine fighting for white trash truth, justice, and the American way.<br /><br />My father – who never paid attention to such things – remarked that it was “weird” that <i>The Legend of Billie Jean</i> seemed to be following us. From Mississippi to Virginia and beyond, Billie Jean Davy was working her “fair is fair” mojo into our very souls. <br /><br />Watching <i>TLoBJ</i> today, it’s easy to see how this flop became a cult favorite on cable. With its impoverished Corpus Christi trailer park denizens, bullying, misogyny, attempted rape, child abuse, subversion of authority, and thematic link to Joan of Arc, <i>TLoBJ</i> wasn’t a happy ‘80s teen lark. It was anti-Brat Pack; darker than anything John Hughes would ever attempt although it’s cut from the same misunderstood youth cloth. <br /><br />The story is pretty simple: Binx (played by Christian Slater in his first major role) has his beloved motor scooter stolen and trashed by the town bullies, lead by Hubie Pyatt. Binx and Billie Jean go to the police, but Detective Ringwald (a classy Peter Coyote) dismisses their story as just kids being kids. <br /><br />Billie Jean decides to confront Hubie’s sleazy father, who runs a souvenir shop on the beach, and demands $608 to pay to fix the scooter. Instead, Mr. Pyatt says he’ll pay for the scooter in $50 increments every time Billie Jean has sex with him (“pay as you go, earn as you learn”) and when she refuses, he tries to rape her. Binx winds up shooting Mr. Pyatt in the arm, and the “Billie Jean Gang” (friends Putter and Ophelia are along for the ride to spice up their lives) are soon outlaws. They become instant celebrities and top the most wanted list as the media spins their exploits wildly.<br /><br />A film geek, Lloyd, hides the gang at his house and shows Billie Jean the classic Otto Preminger film <i>Saint Joan</i> starring Jean Seberg. Billie Jean is mesmerized by the story and watches wide-eyed as Joan is burned at the stake for heresy.<br /><br />When Billie Jean shears off her long flowing hair and dons the skin-tight jumpsuit, she transforms herself into a modern day Joan. Lloyd films her demands for the $608 and sends the videotape to every news channel in Texas, thus making Billie Jean a legend.<br /><br />When Billie Jean & Co. arrive for a fateful meeting on the beach, where Detective Ringwald has promised that a restored Scooter will be waiting along with an apology from Mr. Pyatt, they find a phalanx of media, a whipped up crowd of supporters, and sharpshooters.<br /><br />That’s a whole lotta lotta for what was billed as a “teen movie.” What makes the film more resonant now is how it pre-figured the media siege and spin long before the age of the Internet, 24 news cycle, and merchandising (Billie Jean’s likeness is emblazoned on everything from t-shirts to Frisbees). <i>TLoBJ</i> was also unafraid to present its good guys as anti-heroes. Billie Jean and Co. were no saints – they wound up having to steal, elude police, and Binx even threatens Detective Ringwald with a realistic toy gun. <br /><br />The climatic scene at the beach, where the crowd equally wants to see Billie Jean triumph and to be gunned down, is over-the-top but also chilling. Along with the allusions to Saint Joan and Bonnie and Clyde, there’s also a bit of Patty Hearst thrown in for good measure as Billie Jean becomes an “urban guerilla” forced to rebel to survive. Like Hearst, Billie Jean makes the “mistake” of living instead of dying.<br /><br />In the end, a giant effigy of Billie Jean erected on the beach by Mr. Pyatt is set aflame, harkening back to Joan’s fiery demise. <i>TLoBJ</i> has moments of silliness, Helen Slater has a propensity to under-emote when a scene needs a bit more, but this movie definitely deserved to be a hit. <br /><br />Sadly, every time I was feeling persecuted by my parents for not being able to stay out late, get out of chores, or borrow money, the “fair is fair” line never worked. My dad said when I got my face on a Frisbee to let him know and we’d negotiate. Bummer. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QT7Iko0fnI/Ts--f4zEOuI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Yap77Gkm0hU/s1600/Collin%2BKelley.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QT7Iko0fnI/Ts--f4zEOuI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Yap77Gkm0hU/s320/Collin%2BKelley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678967110169279202" /></a><br /><br />Collin Kelley is an award-winning poet and novelist. His latest book, the mystery Remain In Light, is out now in eBook format and will be available in print in January. www.collinkelley.comhttp://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/11/bad-filmscollin-kelleythe-legend-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-5195889621959959079Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-11-21T07:00:05.657-05:00filmssalonsshameBad Films/Andrew Demcak/AMUSING MUSES: XANADU VS. THE LADY IN THE WATER, WITH SPECIAL BONUS PARABLE: GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7URSGtt7qw/TsnX4up-sDI/AAAAAAAAAQk/ecQz_-qwKgw/s1600/184685.1020.A.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r7URSGtt7qw/TsnX4up-sDI/AAAAAAAAAQk/ecQz_-qwKgw/s320/184685.1020.A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677306174873972786" /></a><br /><br /><br />This is going to seem goofy as all hell that I even think about these things, but believe it or not, Olivia Newton John’s frothy roller-disco movie, <i>Xanadu</i> (41% Rotten Tomatoes rating) and the dreadful M. Night Shyamalan’s “Adult Fairytale” <i>The Lady in the Water</i> (24% Rotten Tomatoes rating) are basically the same film, and I love them both, God help me! Both films feature a Muse who returns to earth to inspire a young artist/author to create a great work: In <i>Xanadu</i>, that great work is to build a pleasure palace (read: tacky 80’s roller rink) and in <i>The Lady in the Water</i>, to inspire Vick Ran (played by the ego-bloated M. Night Shyamalan himself) to write <i>The Cookbook</i>, which will inspire a future president to change the world for the better. Both films also feature a group of sisters (The Pleiades, or Muses) who assist the lead character on his journey, a common folktale motif.<br /><br />Anyone familiar with my writing will know that I incorporate many different mythologies into it. I have always been fascinated by myth and legend and continue to be. I am a sucker for a good fairytale! But one must know how to present one’s story CORRECTLY, m’kay? Tipping one’s hat means doing one’s homework. What I love about <i>Xanadu</i> is the fact that it is based in the Greek myth of the Nine Muses (plus the title is taken from Coleridge’s poem, "Kubla Khan," POETRY BONUS: 25 points to <i>Xanadu</i>). Although Olivia Newton John’s character is called Kira, and not her real name, Terpsichore (Muse of Dance), probably has more to do with the average American’s ability to pronounce words than the mistake of the novice scriptwriter.<br /><br />Even Shyamalan’s film has all the elements and motifs of world mythology. It was clear to me from the very first minutes of the film that Shyamalan, like me, was enamored by fairytales. <i>The Lady in the Water</i> employs these common folk tale elements: an explanation of world origin (we came from the sea), human strengths are glorified (kindness, generosity, bravery, team work, healing abilities, etc.), the help of guardians/mentors/guides must be sought (The mermaid, aptly named “Story,” after she inspires Vick Ran, can only return to her oceanic world with assistance of The Healer, The Interpreter, The Vessel, The Guardian, and The Guild members) monsters (the wolf-like Skrunt, the ape-like Tarturic, and the great eagle, Eatlon), a quest or impossible task (which is the plot of the film, for “Story” to inspire the writing of <i>The Cookbook</i> and return then to the sea), and a struggle between light and dark, good and evil (ahh, Hollywood, where would you be without that one?)<br /> Both films also revolve around Freudian and Jungian mythological archetypes, even perhaps, Feminist archetypes (but I won’t go into that here, dear me, no. That is a doctoral thesis in itself! Try pulling apart L. Frank Baum’s <i>Wizard of Oz</i> books if you really want to know about Jungian archetypes.)<br /><br /> BONUS PARABLE: Guillermo Del Toro’s <i>Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark</i> (61% Rotten Tomatoes rating). Guillermo Del Toro knows his fairytales – that is clear from the <i>Hellboy</i> films. But what I loved about his remake of the 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie <i>Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark</i> is he moves the plot into the literary world of mythology by having his young female lead character, Sally, step into a “Fairy Ring,” a ring of mushrooms left behind where fairies dance, in the beginning of the movie.<br /><br />Anyone who reads a lot of folklore knows what a Fairy Ring is to a mortal: a dangerous place to enter. Humans can be trapped forever in the fairy ring or lose an eye, or suffer another punishment from the fairies for trespassing (SPOILER ALERT: the punishment in the movie involves someone’s teeth being pulled out and eaten by the fairies, and then the hapless human dragged kicking down a grated shoot into an filthy ash pit where he is turned into a fairy himself. Ouch!) In the movie theater, I almost cried out, “Don’t step into that Fairy Ring!” It wouldn’t have been the first time I did something like that, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering partner (17 years we’ve been together), Peter. But I knew that this invasion into the fairy realm would have its consequences for the young girl character, Sally. In fact, it sets up the plot for the rest of the film. Del Toro’s use of this simple folklore element raises his movie from common horror, to universal myth. And, I, for one, am glad he’s such a smarty-pants.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yet-i0bb-5k/TiMVq66XplI/AAAAAAAAANI/7Ni0F1UrCtg/s1600/Photo%2Bon%2B2011-06-25%2Bat%2B06.33%2B%25232.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yet-i0bb-5k/TiMVq66XplI/AAAAAAAAANI/7Ni0F1UrCtg/s320/Photo%2Bon%2B2011-06-25%2Bat%2B06.33%2B%25232.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630367786256016978" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Andrew Demcak is an award-winning author &amp; poet. His new book of poetry, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Chant-Andrew-Demcak/dp/1590213718/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321850726&sr=1-1"><i>Night Chant</i></a>, is was published by Lethe Press in 2012. Check out his other work here: <a href="http://www.andrewdemcak.com/" target="_blank">http://www.andrewdemcak.com</a> &amp; here: <a href="http://www.the/" target="_blank">http://www.the</a><a href="http://andrewdemcak23.com/" target="_blank">andrewdemcak23.com</a> He is listening to Wire's awesome new album <i>Red Barked Tree</i> right now.</p>http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/11/bad-filmsandrew-demcakamusing-muses.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155439.post-3137344684789845173Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +00002011-11-02T07:00:05.974-04:00birthdaysLOCUSPOINTpoetryretrospectivesLOCUSPOINT: Maine, August 31, 2011Of her region, <a href="http://www.locuspoint.org/volume3/maine/index.html">editor Dawn Potter wrote</a>, "Maine is an enormous state, and also a lonely one. Our largest city, Portland, is a blip on the cities-of-the-world map, last metropolitan outpost of the Northeast Corridor, an urbane seaside burg that is liable, among airport baggage handlers, to be confused with Oregon. Yet Portland lies in far southern Maine. Above it looms the bulk of our craggy, thin-soiled, brief-summered land mass, jutting awkwardly toward the seas of Greenland, toiling into the Canadian wilderness—few people and fewer roads and as cold as a rat’s ass for eight months of the year."<br /><br />In the weeks since her edition went live, Dawn noted, "The Maine edition hasn't been out for very long yet, but already I've received many responses from other Maine readers and writers. Most seem to be excited about the edition, but I've also heard a few of them express reservations about the 'darkness' of my curated poems. This interests me, not only because I feel that the poems are far more ambiguously moody than the word 'darkness' implies but also because the image of an ideal Maine is so powerful, even in the minds of long-time Mainers. For writers, it can be hard, very hard, to balance deep love for a place with a simultaneous need to admit its flaws and travesties. But then again, isn't that struggle exactly what we face with all of our long-time loves?"<br /><br />She selected <a href="http://www.locuspoint.org/volume3/maine/hildebrandt.html#two">this poem by Leonore Hildebrandt, "Field Notes,"</a> for this retrospective:<br /><br /><b>Field Notes</b><br /><br />Wind soured with silage: on the hill<br />north of town, a farmer keeps Black Angus cows.<br />Wooden barn tilts on the right of the road,<br />New England farm house sprawls to the left— <br />and the black calves have a clear view<br />of green meadows, the hills, and the town’s distant glint<br />from the small pen<br />where they live in brown-black morass,<br />where they feed on limp roughage, patiently,<br />their ears poised for answers.<br /><br />Sun! The meadow is dressed in light and moisture.<br />Old apple trees, three or four below the barn,<br />still hold on to yellow, shrunken fruit.<br />A Family Farm, the sign says.<br />Perhaps it is a matter of scope. Or voracity.<br />So that the middleman who wages price tags<br />and contracts can squeeze them<br />into the bite-sized lot.<br />The middleman never sleeps nearby.<br /><br />The grass has been mowed, hauled off,<br />packed and sealed under plastic.<br />Now it rains in the hills,<br />black calves crowding at the rack.<br />Movement is habitual:<br />how to lie down on a muddy slope.http://kinemapoetics.blogspot.com/2011/11/locuspoint-maine-august-31-2011.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charles)0